1225 Christmas Tree Lane - Debbie Macomber [57]
“Tonight?”
“Well, yes. It would be perfect. The boys are with your parents and we can drive out to Beth’s place. By the time we get back, Matthew and Mark will be asleep. When they wake up in the morning, the puppies will be there—the best Christmas gift ever.”
Clearly, her husband had worked this all out.
“All right,” she said, holding back a smile. “We can go see the puppies, but there are no guarantees. Understand?”
“Definitely,” he assured her. “We’ll go to Beth’s and look at them, and if you don’t think it’ll work, or you take an instant dislike to either dog or whatever, then we’ll leave.”
She raised her eyebrows. Dave knew her far too well. The minute she laid eyes on those puppies she’d be lost. She couldn’t possibly say no. Especially since he wanted to provide his sons with the same childhood experience that he’d enjoyed.
During a quick phone call to the house, Emily told her mother that she and Dave had an errand to run. She explained what it was, and her mother promised that the boys would be in bed when Emily and Dave returned.
While Emily was talking to her mother, Dave contacted Beth, who said it would be fine to stop by the house that evening. In fact, she wished he would, because she planned to leave with the girls early on the morning of the twenty-sixth, so the sooner these last two puppies found homes, the better.
In the car on the way to Beth’s house, Emily gazed out at the sky. The night was clear, with a million stars twinkling like jewels, but far more precious than any stone she’d ever seen. Her eyes fell to the wedding ring on her left hand. She’d almost removed it when she believed Dave was having an affair. Those had been dark days in their marriage and she’d been so sure, so completely convinced, that her husband was seeing another woman. It wasn’t as if pastors were exempt from temptation.
In retrospect, she felt embarrassed that she’d suspected Dave of anything so underhanded. Yet what else was she to believe? He was gone almost every night and, well…thankfully those days were over. Probably every marriage went through at least one rocky period.
“Dave?”
“Yes, love?”
“I think Beth and her ex-husband still have feelings for each other.”
Dave didn’t speak for several minutes. “I had the same impression,” he finally said.
“What do you suppose went wrong between them?” Emily asked.
“Probably the same thing that went wrong with us.”
“Lack of communication,” she murmured. “I guess it almost always comes down to that.”
They pulled into Beth’s yard and saw another vehicle parked next to hers.
“Maybe Kent’s still with her,” Dave commented.
Emily had heard Kent was staying at the Beldons’ B and B. Rumor had it that he hadn’t arrived alone, but if so, whoever he’d brought hadn’t been at the church.
The front door opened and Beth stepped onto the porch to greet them. “Welcome, welcome! Please, come inside.”
Dave held Emily’s hand as they walked into the gaily decorated house.
“The girls have hot cocoa on the stove. I hope we’ll be able to interest you in a mug.”
“With whipped cream,” Kent added, joining Beth.
He extended his hand to Dave. “We met in church earlier. Kent Morehouse.”
“Dave Flemming, and my wife, Emily.”
“Hi, Emily. Good to see you again, Dave.”
Beth led the way into the kitchen. She opened the door leading to the laundry room and returned a moment later with two beautiful black puppies. They wore the saddest, most forlorn looks Emily could imagine.
“These two are the last of the litter, both males.” Beth handed one to Emily.
“They’re gorgeous,” Emily said, falling hard and fast. All it had taken was one look, and she was convinced these puppies needed to be part of their family.
She sat on one of the kitchen chairs, holding the puppy on her lap. The little creature licked her hand, then immediately curled up and went to sleep. Yup, Emily was lost. Mark would love this dog and she felt confident he’d do a good job of feeding, training and caring for this puppy. Matthew, too, would love and train his dog.
When Emily glanced up